Tag: Massacre of the Innocents

The King and the Eclipse

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

The King and the Eclipse

 

Historian Flavius Josephus wrote that Herod died between a lunar eclipse and a Jewish Passover. Gospels Matthew and Luke report that King Herod was alive when Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem. 

Identifying the end of King Herod’s life would determine the birth year of Jesus of Nazareth. While some consider this information trivial, others find it important.

Without formal or reliable Western calendars, establishing the date of Herod’s death requires piecing together such clues as the reigns of Tiberius, and his sons; the Battle of Actium; the Jewish religious calendar; astronomy data; history accounts; etc.[1]

Herod was officially designated by Caesar Augustus as King, then sanctioned by the Roman Senate to rule Judea. According to Josephus, King Herod ruled for 37 years until his death that occurred between these bookend events:

“But Herod deprived this Matthias of the high priesthood, and burnt the other Matthias, who had raised a sedition with his companions, alive. And that very night, there was an eclipse of the moon.”[2]

“…and when the public morning for the king was over…at the feast of unleavened bread, which was now at hand, and is by the Jews called the Passover…” – Antiquities[3]

Lunar factual data is obtained via the science of astronomy provided by NASA and the Jewish Passover which always occurs with the first full moon of the year. Determining the actual year of Herod’s death is dependent upon both a lunar eclipse and another factor, the rule of Philip, Herod’s son.

Philip was awarded a tetrarchy by Caesar Augustus as part of the inheritance of King Herod.[4] According to the Gutenberg-printed Antiquities, Philip ruled for 37 years when he died in “the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius”(Herod in the excerpt is Herod Antipas):[5]

“…Philip, Herod’s brother, departed this life, in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius after he had been tetrarch of Trachonitis, and Gaulonitis, and of the nation of Bataneana also thirty-seven years.” – Josephus (*printed)

An important factor in the 4 BC timeline date for historians is a lunar eclipse. NASA’s astronomy lunar eclipse data for Jerusalem confirms a partial eclipse with less-than-half coverage lunar occurred on March 13, 4 BC, between 1:32 am and 3:50 AM and the following Passover fell on April 10th.[6]

Thus, secular history marks Herod’s death in 3 BC strongly supported by this lunar eclipse in 4 BC. It seems relatively simple – from Tiberius’s twentieth year of rule (14 + 20), subtract the 37 years of Philips rule and it lands in 3 BC.[7]

Aside from the partial lunar eclipse in 4 BC, finding other known secular historical events corroborating this timeline has proven to be challenging. Examples: Caesar Augustus taking a census and Quirinius governing in Syria in 4 BC.[8]

NASA’s astronomy data provides a game-changing fact. January 9, 1 BC, a full lunar eclipse over Jerusalem began at 10:22 PM spanning to 3:53 AM, January 10. Passover in 1 BC was observed on April 6, twelve and half weeks later.[9]

Josephus described in detail events that transpired between the lunar eclipse and the Passover, especially after the King’s death. The question is whether all the events described by Josephus could have taken place in four weeks between the Kings death and the Passover or if 12 ½ weeks is more realistic.

When word of the King’s death reached abroad, many traveled to Herod’s funeral in Jericho from throughout Judea and from other countries that included foreign dignitaries and militaries. The following funeral procession lasted for many days to Herod’s final resting place in Herodium 30 miles away.

One of Herod’s sons, Archelaus, extended the mourning period after his interment to seven days and then gave a feast for all the people in Judea before the upcoming Passover. When the festival occurred days later, Archelaus sailed away to Rome with his family after attempting to quell civil unrest.

Further upending the 4 BC date reckoning was Biblical hobbyist David Beyer who traveled to various libraries around the world that held older handwritten copies of Antiquities. He discovered that all handwritten copies originally stated Philip died in the 22nd year of the reign of Tiberius.[10]

Beyer’s discovery adjusts the beginning of Philip’s rule to the years of 2-1 BC and changed the calculus of the death of King Herod. The discovery also aligns with other historical information.

Agrippa was given Philip’s tetrarchy by Caligula when, logically, it is unlikely the governance tetrarchy would remain vacated for 3 years if Philip had died in 33 AD. In 36 AD, Aretas and Antipas went to war “when all of Herod’s [Antipas] army was destroyed by the treachery of some fugitives, who, though they were of the tetrarchy of Philip, joined with Aretas’s army.”[11]

Additionally, archeological, historical and astronomy records tracing to 2 BC coincide with other historical timeline events:  the Silver Anniversary of Caesar Augustus and his Pater Patriae registration decree; archeological discoveries of Quirinius governing in Syria; and the Battle of Actium marking the beginning date of Herod’s reign.[12]

A lunar eclipse is the key to both scenarios. A partial lunar eclipse in 4 BC followed by the Passover less than 4 weeks later vs. a full lunar eclipse in 1 BC with the Passover 12½ weeks later.

Did Herod die in 4 BC or 1 BC?

 

Updated November 21, 2025.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. 2017. <http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodians/herod_the_great01.html> “The Actium Project.” New World Encyclopedia. The University of South Florida and the Greek Ministry of Culture. Dir. William M. Murray. Research Project. 1997. <http://luna.cas.usf.edu/~murray/actium/brochure.html>  Chesser, Preston. “The Battle of Actium.” Ohio State University. 2002. <http://ehistory.osu.edu/articles/battle-actium> Gertoux, Gerard. “Herod the Great and Jesus: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence.” Academia.edu. n.d. <https://www.academia.edu/2518046/ Gertoux, Gerard. “Dating the death of Herod.”2015 Academia.edu. <http://www.academia.edu/2518046/Dating_the_death_of_Herod/a> “World History 50-0 BC.”  HistoryCentral.com.  MultiEducator, Inc. n.d. <http://www.historycentral.com/dates/50bc.html> Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7598-herod->  “Tiberius.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2023. <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tiberius>  Wolfram, Chuck.  “The Herodian Dynasty.” 2004. <http://web.archive.org/web/20151013221102/http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cwolfram/herod> Martin, Ernest L. The Star of Bethlehem – The Star That Astonished the World. 2nd Ed. 2003. Chapter 13. A.S.K. (Associates for Scriptural Knowledge.  <://web.archive.org/web/20170917115234/http://www.askelm.com/star/star015.htm>  Bunson, Matthew.  Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Astronomy.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624> San José, Juan Antonio Revilla. “On the Year of Herod’s Death.”  A partial translation from “La Fecha de Muerte de Herodes y La Estrella de Belén.” pp 14, 140.  1999.  Astrology of the New Centaurs. <http://www.expreso.co.cr/centaurs/steiner/herod.html>  “Tiberius.”BBC. 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/tiberius.shtml>
[2] Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. Book XVII, Chapter VI.4. 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[3] Josephus. Antiquities. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. Book XVII, Chapter IX.3. Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. Book II, Chapter I.2. 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> 
[4] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter XI.4. Josephus. Wars. Book II, Chapter 6.3.
[5] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapters IV.6. (printed copy).
[6] Espenak, Fred. “Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer.” NASA Eclipse Website. n.d.  Asia and Asia Minor – Jerusalem, Israel. Century Selection -0001 – 0100. <https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JLEX/JLEX-AS.html> Total Lunar Eclipse.  Pilot&Today. image. 2014. <https://cdn.steamboatpilot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2017/06/TotalLunarEclipse_122110.jpg>
[7] Villalba i Varneda, Pere. The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus. 1986. p14, pt #8.  <http://books.google.com/books?id=kdUUAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA14&ots=2ek7SgCy2c&dq=josephus%2C%20battle%20of%20actium%2C%20herod&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q=josephus,%20battle%20of%20actium,%20herod&f=false>  Schaff, Philip. “Chronology of the Life of Christ.” History of the Christian Church, Volume I: Apostolic Christianity. A.D. 1-100. Chapter 2. 1890.  Christian Classics Ethereal Library. 2005. <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc1.i.II_1.16.html> Sieffert, F. “Census.” The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. II:  Basilica – Chambers. 1952. <http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc02/htm/iv.vi.ccxxx.htm> “Philip the Tetrarch.” Fandom. n.d. <https://bible.fandom.com/wiki/Philip_the_Tetrarch> Bernegger, P.M. “Affirmation of Herod’s Death in 4 B.C.” Journal of Theological Studies Vol. 34, no 2, pp 526-531. 1983.  Schurer, Emil.  A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. Volume 1. 1890. <http://books.google.com/books?id=BRynO3W9FPcC&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=Tiberius&f=false>
[8] Davis, John D. “Quirinius” (Quirinus), cwui-rin’i-us, Publius Sulpicious.” The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. IX: Petri – Reuchlin. 1953. <http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc09/htm/iv.vi.xii.htm>  Ramsay, William M.  “Was Christ Born in Bethlehem?” Chapter 11. 2010. <http://biblehub.com/library/ramsay/was_christ_born_in_bethlehem/index.html> Villalba i Varneda, Pere. The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus. The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus.” pp 15 -16, pts. 8-10.
[9] Espenak. “Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer.” NASA Eclipse Website. n.d.  Asia and Asia Minor – Jerusalem, Israel. Century Selection -0001 – 0100.  Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” Chronos, Kairos, Christos II.  Ed.  Jerry Vardaman. 1998. <http://books.google.com/books?id=mWnYvI5RdLMC&lpg=PP1&dq=isbn%3A0865545820&pg=PA85#v=snippet&q=beyer&f=false> Jachowski, Raymond. Academa.Edu. “The Death of Herod the Great and the Latin Josephus: Re-Examining the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” n.d. <https://www.academia.edu/19833193/The_Death_of_Herod_the_Great_and_the_Latin_Josephus_Re_Examining_the_Twenty_Second_Year_of_Tiberius>
[10] Beyer, David W.  “Josephus Reexamined:  Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” Chronos, Kairos, Christos Kidger, Mark R.  “The Date of Passover 11BC – 10AD.” Mark Kidger`s Comet and Asteroid Observing Home Page. n.d. http://www.observadores-cometas.com/cometas/Star/Passover.html> “Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” Chronos, Kairos, Christos II.  Ed.  Jerry Vardaman. 1998. <http://books.google.com/books?id=mWnYvI5RdLMC&lpg=PP1&dq=isbn%3A0865545820&pg=PA85#v=snippet&q=beyer&f=false> Jachowski. Academia.Edu. “The Death of Herod the Great and the Latin Josephus:  Re-Examining the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” Kidger. “The Date of Passover 11BC – 10AD.
[11] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter VI.4; Book XVIII, Chapter V.1.  Josephus. Wars. Book II, Chapter IX.5.” “Herod Antipas.” Britannica Encyclopedia. 2022. <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herod-Antipas> “Aretas.” Bible History. 2022. <https://bible-history.com/links/aretas-1067>
 “Antipas and Rome.” Bible-History. n.d. <https://bible-history.com/herod-antipas/antipas-and-rome> “Aretas.” Encyclopedia.com. n.d. <https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/aretas>
[12] Gertoux, Gerard. “Dating the two Censuses of Quirinius.” 2018. Academia.edu. <http://www.academia.edu/3184175/Dating_the_two_Censuses_of_Quirinius>  Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII. Chapter VII. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXXIII; Book II, Chapter XIX.  “Augustus.”  UNRV History |The Roman Empire. United Nations of Roma Victrix. 2017. <http://www.unrv.com/fall-republic/augustus.php

Herod – Profile of a Cruel & Cunning King

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Herod – Profile of a Cruel & Cunning King

 

Infamous as King of Judea in Matthew’s Nativity story, he was a threat to the lives of the Magi, Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Herod’s profile is truly that of a villain for other reasons, too.

Jewish historian Josephus noted people quickly saw Herod’s harsh personality:

“…they saw that he was a violent and bold man, and very desirous of acting tyrannically.” – Flavius Josephus [1]

One clue for his cruel behavior might be that Herod was not himself a Jew. His father was Idumean and his mother Arabian.[2]

Aligning himself with Roman rulers, he was appointed as a military general “for he sold him that post for money.” Marc Antony named Herod as Tetrarch “by money” and such persuasions also helped avert a dangerous dalliance with Queen Cleopatra.[3]

Presenting Herod to the Roman Senate by Antony, the Senate voted to make him King of Judea in 40 BC. Authority in Judea had to be taken by force over the course of 3 years with assistance by Antony and Roman Legions.[4]

Later, Antony’s defeat by Octavius (aka Augustus) caused Herod to believe his days were numbered. With nothing to lose, he boldly presented himself to Caesar Augustus in Rome.

Herod positioned his loyalty to Antony as a quality that would likewise be valuable to Caesar if allowed to pledge his allegiance. The ploy worked establishing a lasting relationship with Augustus for the remainder of Herod’s life.[5]

Killings of many people, even though a king, was in violation of Jewish law compelling the Sanhedrin to put Herod on trial for murder. High Priest Hyrcanus tipped off the defiant Herod of the pending verdict allowing him to temporarily escape to Damascus.[6]

Revenue was acquired through heavy taxes, from booty of war and at least some illicitly. Josephus wrote that under cover of night, Herod robbed King David’s sepulcher of gold furniture and precious goods (the money had already been robbed).[7]

Enhancing the Jewish Temple, Herod is famed for building it back to the grandeur of Solomon.[8] Greek inscriptions and architectural features in the enhanced Temple were implemented by Herod. 

One such sacrilege was placing Rome’s golden eagle insignia over the Temple gate. It led to a future atrocity when Herod had 40 insurrectionists burned alive and marked his final days.[9]

Trusting no one, Herod was ruthless in quelling any possible threats.[10] A favored interrogation method was torture on “the rack.”

Some of those who met this fate were identified by Josephus. Victims included palace eunuchs, body guards, maids, friends of family members, soldiers, and anyone else possibly holding secrets with only family members being exempt..[11]

Family status; however, offered no safe harbor from execution. Murders by Herod were standard fare.

Members of the royal family consisted of 10 wives and children. Constantly in turmoil, they bore hatred for one another producing rivalries, slanders, lies, backstabbings, and murder conspiracies.[12]

Second wife of Herod was Mariamne whose 17 year-old son was drowned by order of  the King simply because he wanted someone else to be high priest. Former high priest, Hyrcanus, Mariamne’s father and old heir to the throne, was also killed by Herod.[13]

For rebuking Herod, his sister Salome and mother for complicity in the strangulation execution for her other 2 sons convicted for plotting to kill Herod, it led to Mariamne’s own execution.[14] Days before Herod died, he executed his son from his first wife, Antipater.[15]

According to Matthew, Herod believed he had been deceived by the Magi. They returned home by a different route while Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus escaped Judea to Egypt

MT 2:16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.” (NKJV)

Unusual for rulers of the era, Herod died a natural death, albeit a most miserable one. Disabled by a terrible groin condition, gangrenous bowels protruded out of his body compelling him to attempt a failed suicide.

Knowing death was imminent and feeling sorry for himself, according to Josephus, the King devised the most dastardly plan of his reign.[16] Surmising the principal men of Judea would all rejoice at his death rather than mourn, the King made a demented plan to murder them.

To deprive them of such mockery, under threat of death Herod summoned all the principal men throughout Judea to travel to his palace in Jericho. He then had them locked inside the hippodrome.[15] 

Before his death announcement was made public, the soldiers were to kill these principal men for the purpose of placing all of Judea in a state of mourning. Further, to ensure a deep national mourning, one member of each family in Judea was also to be killed.[17]

Salome, Herod’s reputed wicked sister, was to carry out his last wishes, but such depravity was even too much for her. Aborting the plan after the death of the king, she informed the soldiers the King had changed his mind at the last moment and they released the principal men.[18]

Does the historical profile of a cruel Herod strengthen or diminish the credibility of Matthew Nativity account of killing all male boys 2 years and younger in the Bethlehem area just to ensure he killed baby Jesus?

 

Updated October 5, 2025.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Josephus, Flavius.  Antiquities of the Jews. Book XIV, Ch. IX.  William Whitson.  The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. Google Books.  n.d <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> Josephus, Flavius.  Wars of the Jews.  Book I, Chapter X. William Whitson.  The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850.  Google Books. n.d. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>  “Herod.”  Jewish Virtual Library. 2017. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/herod>   “Herod the Great – Governor of Galilee (47-37 B.C.).” <https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Idumean> Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Judaea.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624>
[2] Herod the Great.” Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. 2017. <http://www.livius.org/articles/person/herod-the-great/?> “Edom (ē`dŏm), Idumaea, or Idumea.” The Free Dictionary. 2017. <http://www.bible-history.com/herod_the_great>  Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Idumaea.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624> Herod the Great.” Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. 2017. <http://www.livius.org/articles/person/herod-the-great/?> “Edom (ē`dŏm), Idumaea, or Idumea.” The Free Dictionary. 2017. <http://www.bible-history.com/herod_the_great>  Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Idumaea.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624> “Herod the Great Biography.” TheFamousPeople. photo. n.d. <https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/herod-the-great-37596.php> 
[3] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XIV, Chapters IV, V, IX, XI.  Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter X.
[4] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XIV, Chapter. XVI, XII-XIV.  Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapters IV, XV – XVII.  “Herod I.” Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7598-herod-i>
[5] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XV, Chapters VI-VII.  Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XIX-XX.  Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Herod the Great.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624&gt > Bunson, Matthew.  Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Jerusalem.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624>
[6] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XIV, Ch. IX; Book XV, Chapter II.  Josephus. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter X. “Herod the Great.” Bible History Online. 2016.
[7] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVI, Chapter VII.  Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapters XXI, XXV, XXIV.  “Herod the Great.” Bible History Online. 2016. <http://www.bible-history.com/herod_the_great>  “Herod the Great.” Livius.org.
[8] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XV, Chapter XI.  Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXI.  “Herod the Great.” Bible History Online. 2016. <http://www.bible-history.com/herod_the_great>  Edersheim, Alfred. The Temple – Its Ministry and Services. 1826-1889. Chapter 1. <http://philologos.org/__eb-ttms/default.htm>  Hegg, Tim.  “Separating the Most Holy from the Holy:  The ‘Veil’ in the Tabernacle and First & Second Temples” Torah Resource. <http://www.torahresource.com/EnglishArticles/Veil%20ETS%20Paper.pdf>  “Temple of Jerusalem.”  New World Encyclopedia. 2015. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Temple_of_Jerusalem>  “Herod’s Temple.”  Bible-history.com.  n.d.  <http://www.bible-history.com/herod_the_great/HERODHerods_Temple.htm>   “Herod.”  Jewish Virtual Library.
[9] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XV, Chapter VIII; Book XVI, Chapter V; Book XVII, Chapters VI; VIII. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXI.  “Hellenism” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7535-hellenism>  “Asia Minor.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2010-asia-minor>
[10] Josephus. Antiquities. Book V, Chapter 1; Book XVI, Ch. VII. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXVI.
[11] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVI, Chapters VIII, X; Book XVII, Chapter IV. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXX.
[12] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter I.  Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XII. XXII.  “Herod the Great; Herodias.” Livius.org.
[13] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XV, Chapters III-VII, IX, XIII, XVI. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXII.  Bunson. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Herod the Great.”
[14] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XV, Chapters III.
[15] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVI, Chapter XI; Book XVII, Chapter IX.  Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXVII. XXXIII.  Bunson. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Herod the Great.”
[16] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter VI.
[17] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter VI. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXXIII.
[18] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter VII. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXXIII.